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Monday, 15 June 2015

Do you smoke? Are you pregnant but want to stop? Here’s the why's and how’s to
quit smoking, not just for you but for your kids...

Smoking
is undeniably bad for your health, and for the health of the ones around you. You might have tried to quit smoking in the past but never
quite managed it; after all, it is highly addictive physically, and
often emotionally too. I’m not a smoker myself and neither is Adam but I know people who do smoke and have children and have openly admitted to wanting to stop smoking for their child’s sake.

Many
people who have smoked for years find the strength that they need to quit
when they have children, since our natural instinct as parents is to
protect our little ones. If you have children and you smoke, or a
loved one smokes, there is no way round it; your children are in
danger. They are in danger from second-hand smoke and even third-hand smoke (from the furniture, carpets and curtains that have
soaked up the cigarette fumes over time).

The
well-known, scary yet scientifically proven effects of children breathing in
second-hand or third-hand smoke include:

1.
Cot death

2.
Asthma (which can be fatal)

4.
Meningitis

5.
Ear infections (which can lead to hearing loss)

6.
Chest infections (such as bronchitis and pneumonia)

7.
Coughs and colds

A
child of a parent who smokes is also three times more likely to start
smoking themselves - it's hard to tell a child not to do something
that you're doing yourself!!

No
parent wants to cause their child to suffer. The good news is that it
is easier now than ever before to give up smoking thanks to all the
help and support available... You can talk to your GP who can sign you
up for Stop Smoking clinics and prescribe NRT (nicotine replacement
therapy) options like patches and gum. There are support groups for
people trying to quit where you can give each other advice and
encouragement, and you can make use of the NHS Stop Smoking Service,
available on the phone 7am to 11pm to help you to stave off
cravings.

Perhaps
one of the best known and modern options is to try an e-cigarette.
These are electronic devices that trick your brain into thinking that
you are smoking a real cigarette, as they release a vapour that you
inhale. The vapour often contains nicotine, to stem cravings, and
they are a far cheaper (and healthier) alternative to real
cigarettes. Many people find that they are easier to quit than 'real'
cigarettes, making them an ideal stepping stone towards quitting
altogether. Something like Vapourize-cigs
are a perfect example.

Once
you have stopped smoking cigarettes, the risks set out above drop
dramatically, very quickly. The sooner you take action to quit
smoking, the better for your family and you.

Sunday, 14 June 2015

I’m getting the hang of this filming malarkey now... I actually quite enjoy it too! I’m yet to figure out what setup works best for me but with the quality of my camera and some (fairly) decent lighting, I can film GRWM/Make-up routine videos a lot easier now!

Here’s the make-up look I’ve been reaching for most days this week as it’s quick, simple and takes about 15 minutes to do, which when waking up at 5:20am on two of my weekdays, is a complete godsend!

Please subscribe and let me know what you think and be sure to check out some of my older videos (p.s. some are a little cringe and the quality is TERRIBLE!)

Friday, 12 June 2015

Those of you who have children will sit and nod your head at the following truths of what we have to deal with, scream “Amen, sister!” when you read the devastating fact that some beauty bloggers out there would never admit to but it has to be done and admittedly, has to be bought into light that there is no ‘perfect’ skincare routine, or ‘perfect’ way to apply make-up or infact, buy make-up... Below, you are about to embark in what could be the truth you’re yet to discover or the harsh reality of what is my life as a blogger with a 2 year old...

Shower time consists of a 5minute rush between eating breakfast or having her favourite programme on TV which means deep conditioning, perfectly shaved legs and face masks are a no-go.

Doing my hair after a shower is again, something that is short lived. I’d be lucky if I manage to get the hairdryer out and dry my hair properly without being mauled and crawled on or a brush being taken to her own hair and getting into a knotty mess!

Washing make-up brushes. Yes. Big shock. I get chance to wash my make-up brushes probably once a month because for all of you non-mom’s, you can leave them out to dry without little hands getting them and trying to paint the walls...

‘Skincare routine’ - what routine? My skincare routine consists of removing makeup, a quick face wash in the shower, moisturise and apply makeup. I don’t have time or frankly the energy to stand at my sink for 15 minutes in the morning and again at night, come 9:30pm, I just want my bed.

Which leads me onto the use of baby wipes for pretty much everything. Cleaning the bathroom - yep. Taking off makeup - yep. Wiping down my makeup brush handles - yep. Cleaning the mirrors - yep. You name it, a baby wipe can clean it!

I also don’t take off my makeup every night, because who has time for that?

Buying new makeup can make you feel so guilty, but sometimes, you just need to treat yourself. Forget about buying nappies, and medicines, and little fruit snacks for just one day. You can do that again tomorrow, right?

Ever tried to paint your nails with a toddler running riot? You can bet that if they don’t get their hands on the bottle first, that as soon as you’re all painted, they’ll poo, or wee and you have to change them. Nail painting only ever happens after 8:30pm.

Buying ‘baby’ cotton pads from Boots to claim the 10 points per £1.00 bonus through the Parentclub (that may be a tip for some of you!) DO IT! Go and boost those points so you can treat yourself in the Christmas sales!

Taking photos for your blog can be a quick 5/10 minute job if you have good lighting and know what you’re doing, add a curious 2 year old into the mix and you’re looking at the most stressful 20 minutes of your life. Wanting to be in the photo, or take the photo, or moving the tripod/objects you’re trying to take photos of... Yeah, you get the picture.

And of course, if your toddler sees you applying makeup day in, day out, chances are they’re going to want to try it themselves...

Hopefully, for those of you who don’t have children, who have the luxury of spending an hour to get ready in the morning, who can apply their makeup without feeling like someone is holding a gun to your head, you can see what a struggle it can be for those of us that do and that when we apologise for not having done a video or put a post up, you now know why!

Can you relate to any of these though? If you can, please let me know so I know that I’m not alone!

Thursday, 4 June 2015

It’s here! From the amazing people behind Make-up Revolution, a brand new Make-up Line is available. It’s focused around more professional products for Make-up Artists or those that are hoping to be part of the Make-up industry. With more affordable prices but amazing quality, everything you’d need to start up your very own professional Make-up kit is available to buy online from Freedom Make-up London.

Along with products such as Corrector and Concealer palettes, Contour kits and Eyeshadow collections, there is also a chance to purchase Make-up courses, hosted by the House of Glamdolls in London, to learn the tips and tricks of the trade and how to be a professional Make-up artist, or simply learn some new things about how to apply Make-up! These courses are available for £50.00 with complimentary products to re-create the Make-up look chosen back at home! For a limited time, you will also get a FREE Pro Make-up Artist Starter Pack which means you get £50.00 worth of products free!

I was so lucky to receive some of the brand new products from the Freedom Make-up Professional collection this morning and I thought you’d all love to see what they look like. The packaging is sleek and simple, yet brilliant quality. I love the square nail varnishes and the Conceal and Correct palette is perfect size for popping in your Make-up bag! The different lipsticks are amazing and definitely something to add to my collection!

Keep your eyes peeled for a video coming on my impressions of the collection including more products from Freedom - Be Free to Make-up!
*Get FREE DELIVERY when you spend over £15.00*

Wednesday, 3 June 2015

It’s been a way too long since I did an update on how Millie is getting on. Monthly updates went out the window when she was a couple of months old and I just stopped doing them for a while as I barely had time to sit and write a detailed blog post. Now that I’m getting back into the swing of things and updated you on what’s going on in my life, I thought I’d update you all on how Millie is getting on too!

- She’s now 2 years old! She turned 2 in April - I can’t believe it! These last 2 years have gone so fast, it’s crazy to think that in another 2 years she’ll be in school!

- She is a proper little girl now. There’s no doubting we have a proper toddler on our hands now, no more baby, hello toddler!

- Her speech is incredible. She’s been talking quite well from a young age and can hold full conversations with us now. Sometimes they don’t make sense, sometimes she doesn’t shut up but we’d have it no different!

- She is currently obsessed with Toy Story. I believe I could recite the whole of Toy Story 1, 2 and 3 if you asked... Not once, not twice, we’re looking at 3 times a day kind of obsessed.

- She loves playing on the Tablet and/or watching ridiculous videos on Youtube of people opening kinder eggs. Anyone else’s toddlers do this?! (It’s super weird but it keeps her quiet for a good 20 minutes!)

- She’s been semi-potty trained since she was around 21 months old. She’s so clever and knows that she has to use the potty but because she’s so tiny and is still in her cot, it’s only day time that she doesn’t wear a nappy and we’re still working on going out of the house for more than half hour without one on too, but we’re getting there!

- She loves being outside. I think because we’re in a flat and don’t have a garden, any chance she gets to go outside or play outside, she takes it! The pictures make this pretty clear...

- She absolutely loves spending time with my Mum and Dad and happily stays at their house every so often for ‘sleepovers’!

- She’s the funniest little person I’ve ever met!

I’ll try and keep you updated, every 6 months or so to let you know how she’s getting on if it’s something that you’d like to read and look through. There isn’t many mile stones left for her to hit now she’s older as she was walking and talking quite young, everything she’s done has been quite early to be honest so we have a very clever little girly on our hands!

If you’ve got little ones, how are they getting on? I’d love to know and read through your updated posts if you have any - just leave the link to it below and I’ll check it out!

Monday, 1 June 2015

I’ve had a big old break on the blogging front but I’m happy to say that I’m back now! My university module is finished (until October at least) and I have a whole load of blog photos waiting to be taken and reviews waiting to be written but first, I wanted to share a few photos from things I’ve done recently.

I’ve been trying to get into photography properly over the last few months, not just taking photos of lipsticks in the house. We get out and about as much as we can and so here’s a mini diary type post of the things/places we’ve seen over the last few months, and I guess a reasonable explanation of where I’ve been for the last 2 months!